Dandelion processes, compositions and products

ABSTRACT

Dandelion processes, compositions and products are provided. One process is a method of preparing dandelion that utilizes a species of a Taraxacum genus, the process including the steps of extracting and recovering a rubber and a carbohydrate from a dandelion root substantially simultaneously. The process employs a dandelion species that is selected from the group consisting of: Taraxacum officianale, Taraxacum kok-saghyz, a rubber-bearing species of the genus Taraxacum, and a combination of two or more thereof. This Abstract is provided for the sole purpose of complying with the Abstract requirement rules that allow a reader to quickly ascertain the subject matter of the disclosure contained herein. This Abstract is submitted with the explicit understanding that it will not be used to interpret or to limit the scope or the meaning of the claims.

This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 120 as a divisionalof U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/068,283, filed May 5, 2011,entitled “Dandelion Compositions, Processes and Methods,” which claimspriority to U.S. provisional application Ser. No. 61/343,959, filed May6, 2010, entitled “Dandelion Compositions, Processes and Methods”, whichis incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention generally relates to extraction processes andproduct formulations deriving from dandelion (genus Taraxacum). Theproducts derived from these processes include, but are not limited to,rubber, sugar syrups, soluble fiber, food, and beverage ingredients.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

With growing world demand, and difficulties with existing rubberplantation monocultures, there is an urgent world need for alternative,less labor-intensive sources of natural rubber as rubber is a strategicmaterial which is irreplaceable in a variety of applications rangingfrom surgical gloves to aircraft tires.

For example, all tires made today come from raw latex that is harvestedby hand in small cups from Brazilian rubber trees whose bark has beendeliberately wounded. This process has not changed in over a century.This laborious effort is carried out almost exclusively in SoutheastAsia, where economic development and environmental costs areincreasingly making labor more expensive, and the business model lessviable.

The monoculture of the Hevea brasiliensis tree (i.e., the rubber tree)is susceptible to devastating diseases and blights, which have occurredprimarily in its native Brazilian habitat. Additionally, cultivation ofHevea has led to a number of environmentally degrading side effects,including the burning of rubberwood for energy needs, and the untreateddischarge of latex rubber processing effluents.

World consumption of bulk rubber is forecast to increase four percentannually to 26.5 million metric tons in 2011, mainly due to the growthin Asian motor vehicle production. China is already the leading worldconsumer of rubber.

One million tons of Natural Rubber Latex (NRL) are imported annually forU.S. consumption, more than half of which is devoted to diverse dippedproducts (gloves, catheters, condoms, etc.). More than 40,000 productsare made with NRL in the U.S., including 39 billion medical exam glovesand 800 million surgical gloves.

No alternative rubber crop has thus far had an integrated system formaximizing the value of all crop co-products. Corn and soybean areexamples where such integrated production systems have been developed:both crops are fully utilized in thousands of food, industrial, andanimal feed products, and in many cases, both food and industrialproducts are extracted from the crop in the same manufacturing facility.

Therefore, there remains a need to overcome one or more of thelimitations in the above-described, existing art. The discussion of thebackground to the invention included herein is included to explain thecontext of the invention. This is not to be taken as an admission thatany of the material referred to was published, known or part of thecommon general knowledge as at the priority date of the claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a flowchart of an overview of the complete dandelionbiorefinery process;

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of a tisane production process utilizing dandelionleaf;

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of a production process for bulk rubber, sugarsyrups, and inulin, utilizing dandelion root;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a production process for latex rubber and sugarsyrups, utilizing dandelion root; and

FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a production process for roasted dandelion rootproducts for food and beverages.

It will be recognized that some or all of the Figures are schematicrepresentations for purposes of illustration and do not necessarilydepict the actual relative sizes or locations of the elements shown. TheFigures are provided for the purpose of illustrating one or moreembodiments of the invention with the explicit understanding that theywill not be used to limit the scope or the meaning of the claims.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

In the following description, for the purposes of explanation, numerousspecific details are set forth in order to provide a thoroughunderstanding of the dandelion biorefinery processes and products of thepresent invention. It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in theart that the dandelion processes and products may be practiced withoutsome of these specific details. Throughout this description, theembodiments and examples shown should be considered as exemplars, ratherthan as limitations on the dandelion processes and products. That is,the following description provides examples, and the accompanyingdrawings show various examples for the purposes of illustration.However, these examples should not be construed in a limiting sense asthey are merely intended to provide examples of the dandelion processesand products rather than to provide an exhaustive list of all possibleimplementations of the dandelion processes and products.

One embodiment of the present invention comprises an integratedextraction process for extracting rubber and other products fromdandelion, so that overall crop economics are favorable.

Alternative rubber sources such as guayule (Parthenium argentatum) andRussian dandelion (Taraxacum kok-saghyz, or TKS) were used successfullyduring World War II for the manufacture of tires when Asian sources ofnatural rubber were not available. Because of wartime imperatives,however, optimizing production economics and co-product credits wasnever a priority for either crop; additionally, both of the allies (theUnited States in the case of guayule and the Soviet Union in the case ofTKS) were able to use the free labor of imprisoned internees for theirwar production programs. With the rebuilding of Asian rubber plantationsin the aftermath of the war, and their superior economics, all domesticrubber programs were abandoned in both the United States and SovietUnion in the late 1940's. Germplasm collections, and the improvementsmade during that time, were lost for both crops.

Both Guayule and Russian dandelion produce high quality rubber withphysical properties and wear characteristics sufficient to be areplacement for tire rubber derived from Hevea brasiliensis, and guayulewas able to provide up to a quarter of U.S. military aircraft tires atone time. The favorable properties of tires made from TKS rubber wereoutlined in the final report of the USDA Emergency Rubber Project (W. G.Whaley and J. S. Bowen, USDA, 1947).

The plant physiology of guayule and Russian dandelion are different. Inguayule, latex rubber is produced within the cells of living planttissue, whereas in the Russian dandelion, latex rubber is produced inlactifer storage vessels within the roots. Thus, the level of plantmaceration and cell disruption required to extract TKS rubber is lessthan it is for guayule. Additionally, TKS dandelion does not have asticky, low-value resin fraction to process, as does the guayule plant.

During periods of high rubber prices, domestic cultivation of guayulehas attracted interest as a potential domestic replacement for rubberderived from Southeast Asian sources of Hevea. However, the slow-growingnature of the desert shrub, the lack of domesticated, well-definedgermplasm, the difficulty of extracting the rubber, and the problem ofhow to use all of the bagasse and resin in the plant (90% of its dryweight) rendered guayule uncompetitive in the bulk rubber market.

In the 1990's the epidemic of latex allergy problems presented anopportunity for guayule rubber to be commercialized, since it wasdiscovered that guayule latex was comparable in properties to the Hevealatex, but lacked any of the allergic response issues. In the medicalfield, the materials cost, particularly for a non-allergenic material isof considerably less concern than in the bulk rubber market.Medical-grade non-allergenic latex products could command high enoughprices that co-product utilization with guayule was not an urgent issue.However, improved de-proteination methods for Hevea latex, as well asnew synthetic innovations, delivered market solutions to the latexallergy problem before large scale agriculture of guayule could beperfected.

Dandelions are the rubber crop most likely to be amenable to anintegrated manufacturing model that fully utilizes and values all partsof the crop, and makes alternative, domestic rubber productioneconomically viable. The rubber from Russian dandelion has already beenshown to make high-quality tires. The root is also known to containinulin, which has health benefits as a soluble fiber ingredient infoods, or can be used as a carbon source for the fermentation of alcoholbiofuels. The fiber in the root can also be degraded to its componentsugars, and similarly used as a carbon source. The leaves have a longhistory of food consumption, and are increasingly utilized in gourmetsalad blends. Dried leaves can be used in healthy tisane formulations,and roasted dandelion root has a long and rich history of being used asa coffee substitute. Dandelion is also a primary ingredient in a numberof herbal remedies and functional foods.

One embodiment of the present invention comprises an integrateddandelion biorefinery process for converting dandelion crops intodiverse and differentiated products. While the process produces rubber,it also maximizes the value of the entire dandelion crop as a whole, andthus mitigates economic risk from the fluctuations of commodity rubbermarkets. Other embodiments of the present invention comprise specificproduct compositions derived from a integrated biorefinery processdisclosed herein.

Embodiments of the present invention may employ the species Taraxacumofficianale and Taraxacum kok-saghyz (Russian Dandelion), and any otherrubber-bearing species of the genus Taraxacum.

One feature of the present invention comprises biorefinery innovationsthat comprise an integrated, balanced, and capital-efficientmanufacturing process which can be adjusted to derive the maximum valuefrom all parts of the dandelion plant: leaves, stems, flowers, androots. Such adjustments can be made to satisfy many diverse andfragmented markets, and to quickly shift production resources based uponmarket demand and the value of different components of the dandelionplant.

Products and processes disclosed herein may be employed by the rubber,food ingredient, beverage ingredient, and biofuels markets where sugarsyrups are utilized for production of fuel alcohol. In one processembodiment, all portions of the harvested dandelion crop are convertedto one or more such products. Extracted rubber products may include bulkrubber, latex rubber suspensions, or both.

Sugar syrup products may include any mixture of concentrated fructose,glucose, galactose, mannose, xylose, or other sugars derived from thedegradation of soluble and insoluble dandelion root fiber. These sugarsolutions may be concentrated into syrups with solids content greaterthan 20%, and serve as a carbon source for the fermentation of alcoholfuels.

Food ingredient products may include products derived from roasteddandelion root or dried dandelion leaf, which are used as ingredients inprocessed foods, or in nutritional supplements.

Food and beverage ingredient products may include inulin, a fructosepolymer. In its high molecular weight form, extracted inulin can be usedas a soluble, non-digestible fiber additive, and is particularlywell-suited for healthy beverages. In its low molecular weight form, itcan be used as a low-glycemic index sweetener in beverages or bakedgoods.

Beverage ingredients may also include dried dandelion leaf, in achopped, pulverized, or shredded form that is formulated with otherdried plant materials, such as mint, tea, citrus, etc., to createinfusible mixtures for making healthy tisane beverages.

Beverage ingredients may also include roasted dandelion root, in achopped, ground or pulverized form that is formulated with other driedplant materials, such as chicory or barley, to create infusiblemixtures. These mixtures are used to make healthy beverage products,both hot and cold, that possess flavor and aroma profiles similar tocoffee.

Taken together, the integrated series of processing steps disclosedherein, and the products derived from them, represent an innovation inhow rubber can be produced economically, and in how co-products areextracted, refined, and maximally valorized to serve different needs, ina system that mitigates capital risk.

The major components of dandelion root are insoluble fiber, solublesugars (mainly in the form of inulin), and rubber. Each of these has aneconomic value which can govern the profitability of the dandelionbiorefinery process as a whole. Depending upon the relative value andpotential market demand for these three fractions, the extraction andseparation steps may proceed by different means, and in differentvolumes.

Referring now to FIG. 1, the overall process flow is illustrated. Afterdandelion harvest, root and leaf separation occurs, after which the leafcan be fractionated into two different production processes, and theroot can be fractionated into three different production processes.

Leaf production is the simplest, in that it can either be allocated forsalad production (washing and refrigerated storage), or dried andformulated into tisane blends. The latter process is illustrated in FIG.2.

Dandelion roots are processed by one of three methods: (1) simultaneousextraction of bulk rubber and carbohydrates, which is illustrated inFIG. 3; (2) simultaneous extraction of latex rubber and carbohydrates,which is illustrated in FIG. 4; and (3) production of roasted dandelionroot products for use as food and nutritional ingredients, or incoffee-substitute beverages, which is illustrated in FIG. 5. The firsttwo of these processes are suitable for rubber-bearing dandelion crops,such as Taraxacum kok-saghyz, whereas the latter process is mostappropriate for non-rubber-bearing dandelion crops, such as Taraxacumofficinale.

In one embodiment of the present invention the processes discussed abovemay all share a common base of standard processing equipment. Thisequipment can be allocated and utilized in one or more of the disclosedprocesses, in a flexible manner, so that the overall product value ismaximized, and the capital resources are utilized in the most efficientmanner possible. For instance, chopping, shredding, and drying equipmentcan be used in any of the processes, at different times, and fordifferent types of dandelion crops (rubber-bearing or not). Most of thesame extractor and separator equipment utilized in the bulk rubberprocess can also be used in the latex rubber process.

In another embodiment of the present invention the individual processesdepicted in FIG. 1 are scalable, so that smaller, higher-value productscan be produced, such as tisane beverage blends, while at the same time,much larger-volume products, such as bulk rubber, may also be produced.

Referring again to FIG. 1, extraction and recovery of the leaf, rubber,and carbohydrate fractions is comprised of the following steps. Thesesteps are carried out in various combinations and in different order,depending upon the desired volume and desired properties of the targetproducts:

FIG. 1 illustrates leaf removal and processing, and additional steps.Leaves are separated at time of harvest, passed over a screen, andcleaned with a water wash and compressed air to remove residual soil andplant matter. If intended for human consumption as salad greens, theleaves are placed immediately in cold storage in the same manner aslettuce. All other dandelion greens are diverted to a tisanemanufacturing line, where they are washed with water, dried at atemperature between 60° C.-105° C. until the moisture level is reducedto less than 10% by weight, chopped to a mean particle size of 1-5millimeters, and then formulated with other similarly prepared, driedplant materials to form a dehydrated tisane blend. When packagedappropriately, and then infused with water in a suitable strainingsystem, these blends may then be used to prepare either fresh or bottledtisane beverages.

Root cleaning is performed as follows: Prior to further processing, allharvested roots are passed over a screen, and cleaned with a water washand compressed air to remove residual soil and plant matter.

Root storage and drying is also performed. These operations are carriedout differently depending upon the targeted application of the cropbeing harvested. For bulk rubber, roots would be dried immediately tocoagulate the rubber and reduce the water content. Drying is carried outat a temperature between 60° C.-105° C., until the moisture level isreduced to less than 10% by weight, with root being stored inlow-humidity chambers at ambient temperatures. This drying and storageprocess would also be used for root which is destined to be made intocoffee-substitute beverage products. When extracting latex rubbersuspensions from dandelion, the root is stored in refrigeratedconditions as soon as possible after harvest, at a temperature of 4°C.±2° C., and processed as quickly as possible to prevent coagulation ofthe rubber. Either form of root storage is appropriate for recoveringvarious valuable carbohydrate fractions, ranging from sugar syrups toinulin.

Mechanical root degradation is also performed as illustrated by theShred/Chop Roots function blocks in FIGS. 3-5. Breaking up root materialis a pre-requisite for the efficient extraction of rubber andcarbohydrate fractions, and the preparation of roasted root products.For any embodiment pertaining to the extraction of rubber andcarbohydrates, roots are chopped, sliced, or preferably, shredded toparticles or slender strings with a diameter of 2 millimeters or less.For any embodiment involving roasted root products, the roots arechopped, sliced, or ground prior to roasting, with a mean particle sizeof between 300-5000 microns. In some embodiments, roots can also beground or pulverized after roasting, depending upon the desired flavorproperties of the target product, to a mean particle size between 300and 1000 microns.

FIG. 3 illustrates the simultaneous extraction of bulk rubber andcarbohydrates. In one embodiment, bulk rubber extraction utilizes driedroot, where the rubber has already been coagulated by the dryingprocess. The first step of the process is to mix the chopped or shreddedroot with hot water at a temperature between 40-70° C., and in thepreferred embodiment, shear the slurry in a counter-current, single ordouble-screw extruder. Another embodiment envisions a continuouslystirred tank reactor operating under high shear conditions. By varyingthe liquid-to-solid ratio between 5:1 and 25:1, and recycling the hotextraction water to extract incoming fresh root material, solutions ofhigh molecular weight inulin are concentrated in the extraction process.In one embodiment, high molecular weight inulin is recovered in solidform by the use of evaporators or spray drying equipment. In analternative embodiment of the simultaneous bulk rubber and carbohydrateextraction process, the extraction solution is both hot and acidic, witha pH below 4.0, and a temperature above 70° C., so that the extractedinulin is degraded below a molecular weight of 1,000. In this latterembodiment, contact times in a high-shear reactor may be 20 minutes orgreater to ensure degradation of the inulin polymers. From this latterprocess, fructose is recovered as fermentable concentrated syrup, withsolids content greater than 20% after evaporation. In preferredembodiments for the recovery of carbohydrate syrups, thin filmevaporators would be used in the evaporation step.

Regardless of the extraction equipment utilized in the forgoingextraction step, all solid materials—coagulated rubber and plantfiber—are passed out of the extraction unit into a series of two or moreflotation tanks. In the preferred embodiment, these flotation tanksutilize diffused air flotation (DAF) to float the rubber particles tothe surface, and a liquid-to-solid ratio less than 25:1 in the firsttank. In a preferred embodiment, the first flotation tank contains oneor more cellulase, xylanase, or hemicellulase enzymes operating at atemperature between 40-70° C., and a pH between 4.0 and 8.0. This enzymemixture degrades insoluble dandelion root fiber to its component sugars,mainly glucose. As enzymatic degradation of the dandelion fiberprogresses in the first flotation tank, the increasingly concentratedsugar solution is periodically passed through a filter, and sent to theevaporation unit to prepare fermentable mixed sugar syrups. Concomitantwith this, make-up water is drawn from the second flotation tank, whichitself is replenished with fresh water. In another embodiment,fiber-containing subnatant from the first flotation tank can be cycledinto auxiliary tanks or holding ponds (not shown) containing cellulaseenzymes, in the event that large volumes of plant fiber requireadditional contact time for cellulase degradation. In a furtherembodiment, fiber-containing subnatant from the first flotation tank canbe cycled into auxiliary tanks containing acidic solutions with a pHless than 4.0 and a temperature greater than 80° C. This embodimentallows for greater contact times and more rigorous degradationconditions. In either embodiment utilizing auxiliary degradation tanks(enzyme or chemical treatment), the resulting sugar solution may bepH-adjusted and concentrated to produce a fermentable syrup. As thesugar recovery is progressing in this manner, solid, coagulated rubberis simultaneously skimmed from the surface of the first flotation tankand passed to the second tank, where in a preferred embodiment, theliquid-to-solid ratio is less than 10:1. Rubber is once again floated tothe surface in the second tank. In other embodiments, additionalflotation tank(s) are utilized with decreasing liquid-to-solid ratios,as a means to further concentrate and purify the coagulated rubber, withfresh water being added to the final tank. In additional embodiments,chemicals may be added to one or more of the flotation tanks as processaids, or to ensure rubber quality. Examples of such additions includehydrocolloid coagulants, antioxidants, anti-foam agents, anti-microbialagents, etc. In all embodiments, the solid, coagulated rubber is skimmedfrom the surface of the last flotation tank, and passed to a shakerscreen, where it is given a final wash before having excess waterremoved by air. The accumulated rubber is then sent to a rubber mixerfor a final combination with anti-oxidants, then passed through a drier,and formed into rubber blocks.

FIG. 4 illustrates the simultaneous extraction of latex rubber andcarbohydrates. In one embodiment, latex rubber extraction utilizes freshor refrigerated dandelion root, where the rubber has not beencoagulated. The first step of the process is to mix the chopped orshredded root with cold water at a temperature below 25° C. and a pHbetween 8.0 and 12.0, and in the preferred embodiment, shear the slurryin a counter-current, single or double-screw extruder. Anotherembodiment envisions a continuously stirred tank reactor operating underhigh shear conditions at a temperature below 25° C. and a pH between 8.0and 12.0. The liquid-to-solid ratio is between 5:1 and 25:1, with thepreferred embodiment having a liquid-to-solid ratio of 10:1 or less ineither type of extraction equipment. In the preferred embodiment of theextraction process, chemicals are added to the extractor to stabilizethe latex rubber suspension. Specific examples of the chemicals to beadded include ammonium hydroxide and sodium carbonate to adjust the pH,sodium sulfite or hindered phenols as antioxidants, hydrocolloidsuspending agents, and commercial antifoam reagents. The latex rubber inthe shredded root lactifers is carried away by the high shear and coldextraction water into subsequent separation and concentration stages ofthe process. In the preferred embodiment, this latex-containingextraction solution is passed through a screen (not shown) whichseparates any remaining plant fiber. This remaining solid material,which includes almost all of the sugars and fiber in the root, isconveyed to a reactor tank, where all of the remaining material isdegraded to its component sugars by means of enzymes. In the preferredembodiment of this invention, the reactor tank contains one or morecellulase, xylanase, hemicellulase, or inulinase enzymes operating at atemperature between 40-70° C., and pH adjusted to a range between 4.0and 8.0. This enzyme mixture degrades insoluble dandelion root fiber toits component sugars, mainly glucose and fructose. In an alternativeembodiment, the degradation conditions in the holding tank wouldcomprise an acidic solution with a pH less than 4.0 and a temperaturegreater than 80° C.

Regardless of the extraction equipment utilized in the forgoingextraction step, the liquid material containing the latex rubbersuspension is passed through a separator screen to remove plant fiber,and then passed on to a series of latex rubber separators. The purposeof the separators is to clean and concentrate the latex rubbersuspension to a final concentration of greater than 50% solids. Multipleembodiments of this process would incorporate as few as two, and as manyas eight, such separator devices. In a preferred embodiment, theseparators are diffused air flotation (DAF) tanks, in which latex rubberis concentrated on the surface by air flotation, skimmed, and passed onto the next flotation tank. In another embodiment, the separators arecontinuous centrifugal decanters, in which a fraction rich in latexrubber particles is carried downstream to the next separator device,while the water-rich subnatant is carried upstream to the previousseparator. In a third embodiment, the separators are quiescent settlingtanks. Multiple embodiments of this process may utilize combinations offlotation, decanting separators, or settling tanks in serialcombination, and in different orders, depending upon the targetproperties of the final latex suspension. All embodiments incorporate adecreasing liquid-to-solids ratio in the separators as the seriesprogresses. In a preferred embodiment, the first separator utilizes aliquid-to-solid ratio of less than 10:1, and the final separatorutilizes a ratio less than 3:1. All embodiments of the latex recoveryprocess incorporate the ability to add chemicals independently at eachseparator device, as a means of process and quality control. Specificexamples of the chemicals to be added include ammonium hydroxide andsodium carbonate to adjust the pH, proteases to diminish proteincontent, sodium sulfite or hindered phenols as antioxidants, ammoniumalginate creaming agents, anti-microbial agents, and commercial antifoamreagents. In one embodiment, a solids content of greater than 40% isachieved at the end of the separator train. In another embodiment, asolids content of greater than 50% is achieved by means of a finalcentrifugation step. While latex rubber is being recovered in theforgoing process, sugar syrups are recovered from the reactor tank,where dandelion fiber is degraded by either chemical or enzymatic means.In a preferred embodiment, the contents of the reactor tank arepH-adjusted to approximately 7.0 as they are drained out, and the liquidis passed through a two-stage filtration system, the first stage being ascreening filter to remove solid fiber, and the second stage being a10,000 molecular weight cutoff filter. The retentate fractions of thetwo filter stages—proteins, enzymes, and polysaccharides—are returned tothe reactor tank for further digestion, while the filtrate proceeds tothe evaporator for concentration into fermentable sugar syrup withsolids content greater than 20%.

FIG. 5 illustrates roasted dandelion root products. Dandelion root iswashed, either while it is whole, or in another embodiment, after it hasbeen sliced, chopped, or shredded. In a preferred embodiment, all washeddandelion root is incorporated into fraction 1, which is sent directlyto the root roaster. In another preferred embodiment, roasting of thedandelion root or its pieces is carried out in a tumbling drum, eitherwith or without strong convective air flows, at a temperature between200-650° F. In another embodiment, roasting of the dandelion root or itspieces is carried out with nitrogen/oxygen mixture ranging from 0-50%oxygen to obtain different levels of oxidation of the organic materialdepending upon the desired taste profile of the intended product. In afurther embodiment, the root is separated into two fractions immediatelyafter the washing step. Fraction 1 proceeds to the roaster, whileFraction 2 is sent to a hot water extraction system identical to what isused to extract coagulated bulk rubber. The preferred embodiment of thisequipment would be either the single or double-screw countercurrentextruder. This step is used to remove some portion of the availablesugars in the roasted product, to prevent formation of off-flavorscaused by the formation of Maillard reaction products. In one version ofthis embodiment, some fraction of the dandelion fiber (Fraction 2) isextracted with hot water, and returned to the roaster with the firstfraction of root material, while the extracted sugars are added backinto the root mixture at a point following the roasting step. Followingthe roasting step, roasted root materials are ground or pulverized to amean particles size between 300-1000 microns. In an alternativeembodiment, any extracted sugars from the preceding water extraction offraction 2 may be added back to create a slurry of dry, roasted grounddandelion particles. Formulation of the final roasted rooted product canbe either in a solid or liquid concentrate embodiment. In a preferredembodiment for the dry powder product, the roasted root is packagedimmediately after grinding or pulverizing to its target particle size.In another embodiment, where soluble sugars have been added back intothe ground roasted root as a liquid solution, the slurry is dried at atemperature between 60° C.-105° C. until the moisture content is lessthan 10% by weight. In a preferred embodiment of the liquid concentrateproduct, the dry, ground roasted dandelion root is either slurried withadditional water, or slurried with the extracted sugar solutionresulting from the earlier extraction of root Fraction 2. The slurry isthen placed in an filtered extraction chamber, and the solid material isextracted by pumping hot water through the chamber, at a temperaturebetween 40-100° C., depending upon the desired flavor and aroma profilesof the target product. In one embodiment, this extract is concentratedin a thin film evaporator to a solids content of 20-50%. In furtherembodiments, other ingredients are added to the concentrate, examples ofwhich include sweeteners, flavors, and texturizing hydrocolloids.

Example 1. Leaf, Tisane, and Dry Roasted Root Products from Taraxacumofficinale

A crop of Taraxacum officinale is harvested, and the leaves and rootsare separated and washed. 50% of the leaves are sent to cold storage forsubsequent mixing into gourmet salad mixes. The other 50% of the leavesare dried in a convection oven at 90° C., with a residence time of 5minutes. The resulting dry leaves are chopped to a size of 2 mm, andmixed with smaller fractions of ground citrus peel, green tea leaves,and mint leaves to create an infusible dry powder Tisane concentrate.The washed dandelion roots are chopped to a size of 5 mm, and 70% ofthis material is sent directly into a rotating drum roaster, where it isroasted at 400° F. for 30 minutes, under ambient atmospheric conditions.The remaining 30% of the root material is extracted in a countercurrentscrew extruder, using hot water at a temperature of 60° C. to removesoluble sugars. The extracted fiber from this step is returned to theroaster with the other 70% of the dandelion root. After roasting, thesolid material is ground to a mean particle size of 500 microns, and theextracted sugar solution is added to create a slurry. This slurry ismixed well, and dried on a belt drier to reduce the moisture content toless than 10%, prior to packaging as an infusible dry coffee substituteproduct, as in a tea bag.

Example 2. Tisane and Liquid Concentrate Roasted Root Products fromTaraxacum officinale

A crop of Taraxacum officinale is harvested, and the leaves and rootsare separated and washed. All of the leaves are dried in a convectionoven at 90° C., with a residence time of 5 minutes. The resulting dryleaves are chopped to a size of 2 mm, and mixed with smaller fractionsof ground citrus peel, ground ginger, and dry inulin (produced inExample 3) to create an infusible dry powder Tisane concentrate withsoluble fiber to promote GI health. The washed dandelion roots arechopped to a size of 5 mm, and all of this material is sent directlyinto a rotating drum roaster, where it is roasted at 400° F. for 30minutes, under ambient atmospheric conditions. After roasting, the solidmaterial is ground to a mean particle size of 500 microns. The drymaterial is then transferred to the filtered extraction chamber, whichon the lab scale could be a drip coffee maker. Hot water at atemperature of 90° C. or greater is pumped through the chamber, and theresulting extract is collected and concentrated to a solids content ofgreater than 20% by means of a thin film evaporator. Other ingredientsare added to the concentrate at this point, including vanilla flavor andpectin as a viscosifier and suspending agent. The resulting concentrateof roasted dandelion root is packaged individually or in bulk, and usedto make rich coffee substitute beverages, either hot or cold.

Example 3. Tisane, Bulk Rubber, Inulin, and Sugar Syrups from Taraxacumkok-saghyz

A crop of Taraxacum kok-saghyz is harvested, and the leaves and rootsare separated and washed. The leaves are processed in the Tisane line asspecified in Example 2. The cleaned roots are first dried to a moisturecontent of less than 10%, shredded into thin strings with an averagediameter of 1 mm, and conveyed into a single screw counter-currentextruder. Inulin is extracted from the shredded root material inside therotating screw extruder by using hot water at a temperature of 70° C.This water is recycled through the extruder as new material is broughtin, until its inulin concentration (as monitored continuously byrefractive index) reaches 10%, at which point, it is pumped through a 2micron filter to a holding tank, and fresh, hot water at 70° C. isreplenished in the extruder. To preserve the high inulin molecularweight, the contents of the holding tank are immediately transferred tothe thin film evaporator, where the inulin solution is concentratedstill further, and then to the spray drier, where high molecular weightinulin is collected in its final dry powder form. This material can bepackaged as a food or beverage ingredient, or used in either of thebeverage products cited above in Example 1 and Example 2. The extractedroot fiber material, which contains insoluble fiber and coagulatedrubber, is conveyed out of the screw extruder, and deposited into thefirst diffused air flotation (DAF) tank. This tank has air diffusers onthe bottom creating bubble sizes of 1 mm or less, and also contains amixture of industrial cellulase and xylanase enzymes for degrading theshredded root fiber material rapidly. The tank is operated at themaximum temperature of the industrial enzymes, which in this example is60° C., and the optimum pH for the enzymes being used. Air bubbles bringthe coagulated rubber particles to the surfaces, where they are removedby means of a skimmer and transferred to the second DAF tank. Sugarconcentrations in the first DAF tank are monitored continuously by meansof refractive index, and as the concentration of sugar reaches 10%, thesubnatant is drained away, filtered through a 2 micron filter, andpumped to the thin film evaporator, where it is concentrated to a solidslevel of between 20-50%, stored, or used as a carbon source for theproduction of alcohol biofuels by fermentation. Subnatant drained fromthe first DAF tank is replaced by water from the second DAF tank, whichin turn is replenished by fresh or recycled water. Coagulated rubberparticles floated to the surface in the second DAF tank, now muchcleaner, are skimmed and transferred to a shaker screen, where they aregiven a final spray wash, and a compressed air blast to remove excesswater. After mixing the rubber particles with antioxidant in a rubbermixer, the rubber is dried and compressed into rubber blocks for storageand shipment.

Example 4. Tisane, Bulk Rubber, and Sugar Syrups from Taraxacumkok-saghyz

This example is the same as Example 3, except for treatment of theinulin-containing hot water extract from the screw extruder. In Example3, this solution resided only briefly in the holding tank, and wasconveyed quickly to the thin film evaporator and spray drier forrecovery of high molecular weight inulin. In the present examplehowever, the holding tank is held at a temperature of 70° C., and the pHis adjusted to 1.5 with sulfuric acid. This degrades the inulin tofructose, and after a residence time of 45 minutes, the pH of thesolution is adjusted to between 6.0 and 8.0 with sodium hydroxide. Thispredominantly fructose solution is then pooled with the other(predominantly glucose) solutions collected from the DAF tank subnatant,and the mixed sugar solution is concentrated to a syrup of solid content20-50% in the thin film evaporator. This mixed sugar syrup can then bestored, or used as a carbon source for the production of alcoholbiofuels by fermentation.

Example 5. Tisane, Latex Rubber, and Sugar Syrups from Taraxacumkok-saghyz

A crop of Taraxacum kok-saghyz is harvested, and the leaves and rootsare separated and washed. The leaves are processed in the Tisane line asspecified in Example 2. The fresh roots are refrigerated at 4° C. for aperiod of about 6 hours after harvest, then shredded into thin stringswith an average diameter of 1 mm, and conveyed into a single screwcounter-current extruder. Cold water at a temperature of 20° C. isadjusted to pH 10.0 with ammonium hydroxide, and sodium sulfite is addedas an antioxidant. This solution is used to extract the raw latex fromthe shredded dandelion root inside the screw extruder. This watersolution is recycled through the extruder as new material is brought in,in order to concentrate the extracted latex still further. As the latexsolids content approaches 10% (as measured by probes such asnear-infrared or conductivity), this extraction fluid is divertedthrough a screen filter into the first separator tank, and isreplenished by fresh extraction fluid. Retentate from the screen filteris returned to the counter-current screw extruder, which deposits of allthe remaining solids into a reactor tank for sugar recovery. Thisreactor tank is maintained under similar conditions the first DAF tankcited in Example 3: a mixture of industrial cellulase and xylanaseenzymes held at the optimum enzyme pH and a temperature of 60° C. Sugarconcentrations in the reactor tank are monitored continuously by meansof refractive index, and as the concentration of sugar reaches 10%, thesubnatant is drained away, filtered through a 2 micron filter, andpumped to the thin film evaporator, where the sugar syrup isconcentrated to a solids level of between 20-50%, stored, or used as acarbon source for the production of alcohol biofuels by fermentation.The latex separation and concentration process begins in the firstseparator tank, which in the present case is a diffused air flotation(DAF) tank identical to that used in Example 3. In the present case,however, additional monitoring and controls are needed to keep pH incontrol (10.0±2.0), and to control foaming and potential coagulationissues. Because the latex rubber can be cleanly extracted from dandelionroot lactifers, there is little foreign matter even in the firstextraction, and this foreign matter is diluted and removed in subsequentseparator steps. As cold latex extract is added to the first DAFseparator tank, the latex particles are brought to the surface, where askimmer transfers them to the next separator tank. In the presentexample, the next separator tank is a centrifugal decanter, whichconcentrates the latex still further, and transfers the light,rubber-rich phase is to the third stage. The third separator tank in thepresent example is a quiescent settling tank, into which is added 0.1%ammonium alginate as a creaming agent. Creamed latex is removed fromthis separator, and concentrated by means of a centrifuge in a finalstep to a Dry rubber solids content of 50%. The final formulation isadjusted to a pH of 10.0 with ammonium hydroxide, and containsanti-oxidants, anti-microbials, and stabilizers. Excess water from eachof these separator stages is recovered and recycled back to theextractor.

Thus, it is seen that dandelion processes, compositions and products areprovided. One process comprises a process of preparing dandelion thatutilizes a species of a Taraxacum genus, the process comprising thesteps of: extracting and recovering a rubber and a carbohydrate from adandelion root substantially simultaneously. The species is selectedfrom the group consisting of: Taraxacum officianale, Taraxacumkok-saghyz, a rubber-bearing species of the genus Taraxacum, and acombination of two or more thereof. In this process a bulk rubber isfirst coagulated by air drying of a plurality of dandelion roots. Also,both a coagulated rubber and a water soluble inulin are substantiallysimultaneously extracted from a plurality of dandelion roots by usingwater at a temperature above 40° C. Alternatively, a coagulated rubberand a water soluble sugar are substantially simultaneously extracted andseparated from a plurality of dandelion roots by an aqueous solution ofenzymes, at a temperature ranging between 20 to 70° C., and a pH between4.0 and 8.0. The bulk rubber is purified and recovered from a pluralityof dandelion roots by a series of one or more diffused air flotationsteps.

A second process of preparing dandelion that utilizes a species of aTaraxacum genus, the second process comprising the steps of: recoveringa fermentable sugar syrup from a dandelion, the fermentable sugar syruphaving a composition ranging between 5 and 95% fructose, and a remainderselected from a group consisting of: glucose, xylose, mannose,galactose, and a combination of two or more thereof. The dandelionspecies is selected from the group consisting of: Taraxacum officianale,Taraxacum kok-saghyz, a rubber-bearing species of the genus Taraxacum,and a combination of two or more thereof. A dandelion carbohydrateproduct is manufactured, and the dandelion carbohydrate productcomprises an inulin possessing a molecular weight greater than 5,000atomic mass units or a fructose syrup with a solids content greater than20%. Another dandelion carbohydrate product may be manufactured, and thedandelion carbohydrate product comprises a mixed sugar syrup having acomposition ranging between 5 to 95% fructose, and a remainder selectedfrom a group consisting of: glucose, xylose, mannose, galactose, and acombination of two or more thereof. A solids content of the product maybe greater than 20%.

A third process of preparing dandelion that utilizes a species of aTaraxacum genus, the third process comprising the steps of: extracting arubber from the dandelion by using a cold water wash, where the speciesis selected from the group consisting of: Taraxacum officianale,Taraxacum kok-saghyz, a rubber-bearing species of the genus Taraxacum,and a combination of two or more thereof. In this process the extractedrubber from the dandelion is purified and concentrated to a solidscontent of greater 40%. The extracted rubber from the dandelioncomprises a product that may be used in a manufacture of a tire or anautomotive part or a latex rubber used in a manufacture of a medicaldevice or a glove.

The terms “including”, “comprising” and variations thereof mean“including but not limited to”, unless expressly specified otherwise.The enumerated listing of items does not imply that any or all of theitems are mutually exclusive, unless expressly specified otherwise. Theterms “a”, “an” and “the” mean “one or more”, unless expressly specifiedotherwise. None of the description in the present application should beread as implying that any particular element, step, or function is anessential element which must be included in the claim scope. The scopeof the patented subject matter is defined only by the allowed claims.Moreover, none of these claims are intended to invoke paragraph six of35 USC Section 112 unless the exact words “means' for” are followed by aparticiple.

Thus, it is seen that dandelion processes, compositions and products areprovided. One skilled in the art will appreciate that the presentinvention can be practiced by other than the above-describedembodiments, which are presented in this description for purposes ofillustration and not of limitation. The specification and drawings arenot intended to limit the exclusionary scope of this patent document. Itis noted that various equivalents for the particular embodimentsdiscussed in this description may practice the invention as well. Thatis, while the present invention has been described in conjunction withspecific embodiments, it is evident that many alternatives,modifications, permutations and variations will become apparent to thoseof ordinary skill in the art in light of the foregoing description.Accordingly, it is intended that the present invention embrace all suchalternatives, modifications and variations as fall within the scope ofthe appended claims. The fact that a product, process or method exhibitsdifferences from one or more of the above-described exemplaryembodiments does not mean that the product or process is outside thescope (literal scope and/or other legally-recognized scope) of thefollowing claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of obtaining fructose from a dandelionspecies, the method comprising the steps of: a) providing a plurality offresh or refrigerated dandelion roots containing inulin; b) drying thedandelion roots to a moisture content of less than 10 weight %; c)shredding the dried dandelion roots into a multiplicity of thin strings,pieces, or particles; d) immersing the shredded and dried dandelionroots in an extractor tank with water having a temperature of at least40° C.; e) recycling the water through the extractor tank, whereinadditional shredded and dried dandelion roots are added to the extractortank until the concentration of inulin in the water reaches apredetermined amount; f) pumping the water having the predeterminedamount of inulin through a filter to remove substantially all theshredded and dried dandelion roots, and into a holding tank; g)adjusting a pH of the water in the holding tank to below 4.0; and h)degrading the inulin in the holding tank to fructose.
 2. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising the step of: i) maintaining the fructosethat has been degraded from the inulin in the holding tank for apredetermined time; j) adjusting the pH of the water in the holding tankto between 6.0 and 8.0; and k) evaporating the fructose to a solidcontent of 20 weight % to 50 weight %.
 3. The method of claim 2, whereinthe fructose is mixed with a glucose solution before the step ofevaporating.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of adjusting apH of the water in the holding tank to 1.5 comprises adding a sulfuricacid to the water.
 5. The method of claim 2, wherein the step ofadjusting the pH of the water in the holding tank to between 6.0 and 8.0comprises adding a sodium hydroxide to the water.
 6. The method of claim1, wherein the dandelion species is selected from the group consistingof: Taraxacum officianale, Taraxacum kok-saghyz, a rubber-bearingspecies of the genus Taraxacum, and a combination of two or morethereof.